See the 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse in Slooh Webcast Sunday!

Skywatcher Joel Dykstra photographed the annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012, in New Mexico. "Here are some eclipse pictures I took from my backyard in Roswell, NM with a Pentax K100 D digital SLR and some older manual telephoto lenses," he wrote. "I did not use any filters or special devices. These were taken between 6:45-7:30 p.m. mountain time."

A solar eclipse and its spectacular "ring of fire" will be visible from the Southern Hemisphere this Sunday morning (Feb. 26), but no matter what side of the equator you're on, you can watch the spectacular event unfold online in a live broadcast from Slooh's online observatory.

This type of eclipse is called an annular eclipse, meaning that the sun will remain visible as a bright ring around the moon. A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes in front of the sun. Sometimes, the moon is far enough away from Earth that it doesn't entirely cover the sun, so part of the sun's light shines around the moon. This eclipse will be visible in the Southern Hemisphere, covering parts of South America, the Atlantic Ocean and Africa. Slooh will present the eclipse in live feeds from Chile and other locations.

A map of the path of the Feb. 26, 2017, annular solar eclipse. The purple line shows the region where the "ring of fire" eclipse will be visible. A partial solar eclipse will be visible over a wider area.

"During the broadcast, Slooh host Gerard Monteux will guide viewers on this journey across multiple continents and thousands of miles," Slooh said in a statement. "He'll be joined by a number of guests who will help viewers explore not only the science of eclipses, but also the fascinating legend, myth, and spiritual and emotional expression associated with these most awe-inspiring celestial events."

The following guests will be on the show:

Slooh astronomer Paul Cox, who will speak from Slooh's flagship observatory at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands;

Warning: Never look directly at the sun, even during an eclipse, without proper eye protection; serious and permanent vision damage can result.

Editor's note: If you safely take a photo of Sunday's "ring of fire" eclipse that you'd like to share with Space.com and our news partners for a possible story or image gallery, send images and comments to: spacephotos@space.com.